Track-adjusting machine



J. KNUTSEN..

TRACK ADJUSTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-6,1919.

. 41,912; Patented June 1, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

luuautoz M .l/fnui sen UNITED stares PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN KNUTSEN, OF BOWDEN, ALBERTA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF, T0

CHARLES LOU T'IIT, 0F PRINCE GEORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA TRACK-ADJUSTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. v Patent d J 116 1 1920 4 Application filed. August 6, 1919.- Serial No. 315,699.

tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to railway appliances, and particularly to means whereby the railroad rails of a track maybe raisedtot-hereby bring them to a proper level, or may be laterally shifted so as to bring the rails into "ali'nement or to the proper gage.

The general object of my'invention is to provide a car in the nature. of a hand car adapted to run upon the rails of a railroad track,'andprovided with lifting jacks adapted to engagebeneath the rails at low portions thereof, and also provided'with laterally thrusting jacks which will engage with rails to force them laterally.

And a further object is to provide improved means-whereby the car may be held against lateral movement or longitudinal movement on the rails, while the rails are being lifted or shifted.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein 2-- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a car constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fi 1;

"iig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1-

Fig. is a section on the line 4-4 of Fi 1; and

iig. 5 is a perspective detail View of one of the feet which is used to resist lateral movement of the car.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that the car body essentially consists of longitudinally, relatively wide, channel irons 10 disposed on each side of the body of the car and connected by transverse beams or braces 11. I have only shown two of these transverse beams, but it will be understood'that others may be used if necessary, and that I do not wishto be limited to the particular construction of the frame of the car. Preferably, this car or carriage is carried upon-very low rollers or wheels 12 which may run upon the rails ofthe'trac'k, but I do not wish to be'limited to'this, as wheels of greater diameter might be used an'dthe frameof the car be lowered.

relative'to the wheels so as to bring the car frame relatively closeto the track.

Mounted upon the car frame and specifically upon the channel irons 10 and extending longitudinally of the machine, are

shafts 13. These shafts are shown as extending the full length of the car and each shaft carries at its-oppositeends, the ratchet wheels 1e. Coasting with each of these ratchet wheels is a lever 15 having a pawl 16 adapted to engage the ratchet wheels; By this means, the shafts may be turned from opposite ends of the cars Disposed preferably at the middle of the car, but notnecessanily so, and1 on each side thereof, are the downwardly extending. lifting jacks 17,.asshown inl ig. 2, these jacks being angularlybent at their lower ends, as at 18, to engagewhen desired beneath a rail, and

the shank of each lifting jack is screwthreaded for engagement with a nut 19 which is suitably mounted upon the corresponding channel iron 10 and is formed with gear teeth 20 for engagement with a wormgear 21 loosely mounted upon the corresponding shaft 10. 'Ilhis wormgear is provided with clutch teeth 22, and a: clutch member 23 having teeth is splined or otherwise connected to the shaft 13 to rotate therewith and is shiftable by means of a clutch lever 24 into or out of. engagement with the Worm 21. Each of the jacks? .17

is provided at its upper endwith a head25 whereby a wrench may be applied to the jack so that the jack may be turned to carry its angular end 18 from beneath .the rail, or whereby the jack may be turned to a position at right, angles to the rail .and beneath it. These jacks 17 are designed to be used for the purpose of lifting a rail which is lower than it should be and this is particularly necessary at the joints of the rails Where one rail is liable to be depressed relative to theother rail. After the rail is lifted, a shim or wedge may be inserted beneath the rail to hold it in its alined position.

For the purpose of shifting the railslaterally, I have provided, as illustrated in Fig. 8, a plurality of laterally movable jacks 26, each-of these jacks being disposed in a horizontal plane and having at its outer end an angular head 27 adapted to engage against a rail, as illustrated in Fi 3, to engage over a rail so that the rail may be pulled inward. The shanks of these jacks are screw-threaded and each shank is engaged by a nut 28 held from longitudinal movement and in turn engaged by a worm wheel 29 loose on the shaft 13 but operatively engaged with the shaft by means of a shiftable clutch 30 controlled by an operatinglever 31. I have shown a conventional type of clutch for the purpose of engaging the worm wheels with the shaft, but it will be understood that any desirable type of clutch may be used for this purpose. It will be likewise seen that the shank of each of the jacks 26 is provided with a manysided head 32 whereby the jacks may be rotated by means of a wrench so as to raise the angular head above the rail when it is desired to shift thejack so as to engage the outside of the rail. It will be seen that any of the jacks may be thrown into operation, and that by this means the rails may be bent as well as shifted laterally.

WVhile the flanges of the rollers 12 will tend to hold the car upon the track against thethrust exerted by these laterally movable jacks, yet as a further means for preventing any movement of the car or carriage While the jacks are being operated, I provide a pair of shafts 33 extending longitudinally of the car adjacent the middle thereof, each shaft being formed with cranks 34 at intervals, and attached to these cranks are the outwardly and downwardly extending rods 35 which pass through blocks or feet 36. Disposed on each rod is a nut 37, and a heavy coiled spring 38 is disposed between the nut 37 and the block or foot 36. Relatively light coil springs 39 are attached to the foot and to transverse braces 39 which support the shafts 33, and it will be obvious that if the shafts 33 be turned so that the cranks arethrown outward, the feet will be pressed firmly into the ballast of the track or into the road bed between the ties. For the purpose of rotating the shafts, I provide ratchet wheels 40 at each end of the shaft 33 and provide a lever 41 for each shaft having thereon pawls engaging the ratchet wheels 40. These levers Al preferably operate over arcuate racks 42 so as to hold the shaft in their adjusted positions.

The operation and use of my invention will be obvious from what has gone before. By this means the rails of the track may be lifted up so as to level the rails, or the rails maybe straightened wherever necessary, or drawn toward each other when necessary in order to bring the rails to gage.

While I have illustrated a construction showing the essential features of my invention and the broad idea, it will be obvious thereof.

that many changes might be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts, and in the embodiment of the invention without departing from the spirit I claim 1. A track handling machine comprising a car having wheels adapted to run upon a track, vertically movable jacks formed at their lower ends to engage beneath the opposite rails of a track, laterally movable jacks mounted, upon the car and engageable against thesides of the rails, and means on the car for operating said jacks. I

2. A track handling machine comprising a car having wheels adapted to run upon a track, vertically movable jacks formed at their lower ends to engage beneath the op.- I posite rails of a track, laterally movable jacks mounted upon the car and engageable against the sides ofthe rails, means on the car for operating said jacks, feet carried by the car, and means for shifting the feet toward and from the ground.

3.. track handling machine comprising a car having wheels adapted to run upon a track, vertically movable jacks formed at their lower ends to engage beneath the opposite rails of a track, laterally movable jacks mounted upon the car and engageable against the sides of the rails, means on the car for operating said jacks, downwardly and laterallydirected rodscarrying' feet at their extremities, and manually operable means for shifting said rods downward and outward to force the feet into the road bed.

4;. A machine of the character described comprising a wheeled frame, vertically movable jacks mounted upon the wheeled frame and having heads at their lower ends adapted to engage beneath a rail, a series of hori-' zontally movable jacks mounted upon the 1 frame for movement at right angles to the length of the car, power shafts mounted upon the car and extending longitudinally thereof and having means whereby they may be rotated, and means for operatively connecting any one of the jacks with its corresponding power shaft.

5. A mechanism of the character described including a wheeled frame, vertically movable screw-threaded jacks mounted upon the wheeled frame and having heads at their lower ends adapted to engage beneath the rails, a nut engaging the screw-threaded shank of each jack and having a worm gear on its periphery, a plurality of horizontally disposed jacks having heads at their outer ends adapted to bear against the rails of a track, the jacks having screw-threaded shanks, nuts engaging said shanks and having a worm gear upon its periphery, longitudinally extending power shafts mounted upon the car and having worms engaging respectively with the nuts of the first named and second named jacks, and means for applyin power to said shafts.

6. K mechanism of the character described including a wheeled frame, vertically Inovable screw-threaded jacks mounted upon the wheeled frame and having heads at their lower ends adapted to engage beneath the rails, a nut engaging the screw -threaded shank of each jack and having a worm gear on its periphery, a plurality of horizontally disposed jacks having heads at their outer ends adapted to bear against the rails of a track, the jacks having screw-threaded shanks, nuts, engaging said shanks and having a worm gear upon its periphery, longitudinally extending power shafts mounted upon the car and having worms engaging respectively with the nuts of the first named and second named jacks, means for applying power to said shafts, and depressible means mounted on the car for engagement with the road bed to hold the car from movement.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN KNUTSEN.

Vitnesses W. J. CRANsToN, J. A. CALDWELL. 

